RetroThing.com reports, “There were other affordable hobbyist computer kits available before, but the Apple II was the first computer that was ready to run out of the box. It’s not surprising that an Apple II was the first computer that I used in elementary school since Apple made inroads with the U.S. educational system from their earliest offerings. What may be a surprise is that the Apple II was manufactured up until 1993 (with some redesigns and cost-reduced versions), with many still in operation today. Between five and six million of the putty colored machines were sold, (which still isn’t close to the Commodore 64’s record of 17 million!)”

RetroThing.com asks, “There’s still one question no Apple fan has ever been able to answer for me: Why in the hell does that green power light get so hot? Ouch!”

Ask anyone who’s used an Apple II or one of its variants about it and typically they will wax nostalgic. I learned basic computing on one. Our teacher used to play Lemonade Stand and some sort of turret war game (the kind with the whole angle and velocity trying to kill them before they kill you type game) of which so many versions have spawned. I’ll never forget the first Oregon Trail and Carmen Sandiego. Now that’s education for you! I’m glad to see Apple showing up more in schools. Sad that the students have to have better taste than the teachers and school boards and IT departments.

My first encounter with an Apple computer was the GS II. Nice machine but the Macintosh computers sitting in the same room were a bigger attraction. Not to mention Dark Castle I loved (and still do as a matter of fact !)

Yes in schools, that doesn’t surprise me.
The other day I asked the school principle where my kids go to use email to send out announcements from the school and notes on my kids instead of the automated phone call system they are singing up for and spending money on.
I told them I could set-up a free email account for the school and they only need the free software Apple already includes with every Mac.
She told me “No, we need to wait for some district approved system before we could do something like that.”
Welcome to 1970.

On another note, if the Mac 128 -> Mac Plus had power supplies that didn’t self-destruct, they would be in use as well.

My first computer than I bought with my own money was an Apple IIgs. I used it longer as my “main computer” than any other computer I’ve owned since then. Computers stayed relevant longer back in the 80’s. And if you think Mac users are a fanatic and loyal bunch, you should have seen the Apple II users back then…